Digital video network reaches 27 million monthly

The purchase will give Discovery more inventory for selling online video advertising.

Revision3 is a pioneer in the online programming space, having built out 23 digital channels filled with programming mostly aimed at technology and video games including series “Tekzilla.” Based in San Francisco, Revision3 currently reaches 27 million unique monthly visitors.

Published reports pegged the value of the deal at $30-40 million. Discovery declined comment on terms of the deal. While Discovery already has plenty of online real estate between the dot-com extensions of its cable channels as well as acquisitions ranging from Treehugger.com to HowStuffWorks.com, most of those properties are reliant on display ad dollars. Revision3 will double the company’s video inventory and open the door to more lucrative integration opportunities.

Deal marks the first major digital move under chief digital officer J.B. Perrette, who joined Discovery six months ago after exiting a similar post at NBCUniversal.

“When I came in, I said, ‘We’re the number-one non-fiction video company on TV but there’s this next wave of video that is growing and building but we’re not really in the game,'” he said.

Discovery will look to continue the growth of Revision3, partly with intellectual property from Discovery’s vast library of intellectual property and pacts to come that will reel in new independent talent online already building followings in the parent company’s key verticals of science, technology and wildlife. That growth will fuel additional cross-platform opportunities for Discovery ad sales.

Discovery may be the most conservative among media companies when it comes to repurposing its TV content online, with no deals in place among major distributions for TV Everywhere either. Revision3 will help fill that vaccuum, though the conglom will continue to consider TV and digital largely separate platforms.

Revision3 marks the biggest acquisition of an indie online video network since YouTube snapped up NextNewNetworks last year.

Revision3 will continue operating with 50 employees under its current management, led by CEO Jim Louderback.